The gross domestic product of the group of countries that make up the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) advanced by 0.4% in the first quarter of the year, accelerating the pace compared to the 0.2% recorded in the last three months of the previous year, although still below the pace of the third quarter of 2025, in a scenario conditioned by the war in Iran.
In this period, 20 of the 28 economies that are part of the organization registered GDP expansions, while in two countries the size of the economy remained stable and in another six members there was a contraction in activity.
Among the G7 countries, the performance of the United Kingdom and the United States stands out, which registered a notable boost in their growth compared to the previous quarter. British GDP advanced by 0.6%, compared to 0.2% in the last three months of 2025, supported above all by the greater dynamism of private consumption and public spending.
For its part, US GDP increased by 0.5%, compared to the previous 0.1%, stimulated by the recovery of public consumption and exports, as well as the increase in investment, which allowed economic growth to expand.
The rest of the G7 members also improved their records at the start of the year, with the sole exception of Italy. The transalpine country moderated the advance of its economy from 0.2% at the close of the previous year to 0.1% recorded between January and March.
In parallel, South Korea led the quarterly increases in this first part of the year, raising its GDP by 1.7%, a significant change compared to the previous quarter, when its economy was weighed down by a fall of 0.2%.
After the Asian country came Finland (0.9%), Hungary (0.8%), and Switzerland (0.8%), which complete the group of largest increases within the OECD. At the opposite end were Ireland (-2%), Israel (-0.8%), and Mexico (-0.8%), with the sharpest declines in the organization.
In year-on-year terms, OECD area GDP growth picked up slightly in the first quarter compared to the previous one, going from 1.7% to 1.8%. Within the G7, the United States recorded the largest annual advance (2.7%), while Germany was at the bottom with an increase of 0.3%.
In the case of Spain, GDP increased by 0.6% between January and March, below the 0.8% recorded in the previous quarter. On an annual basis, the pace of expansion of the Spanish economy reached 2.7%, one tenth more than in the last three months of 2025.